Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-26
WITH TIE SNAKE KING.

WITH TIIE SNAKE KING.
II was a sultrv August morning. and
John N.t~ru was mp early. He had i
long ride before him To Pyramid. and his
yuUU, VIE urged him 10 start with the
rising sun and return late in the after
noon. in order to avoid the midday heat
The Na'~nn plantation stretched for
miles along the Alabama river The near
est white urjEhbor was ten miles ofT. aud
il took three hours 10 reach the village Of
PYRAMID.
Mat,nn and his wife stool IN the broad
plaza. hooking down the s,opiuC lawn to
the road, where BLACK Tom was waiting
with tn" horse and buoy Far away 10
the ri-ht wrrathS Of dense fog Indicated
the winding course ot The river. Not a
breath stirred the semi tropical foliage Of
the trees. and the atmosphere Wa~ laden
with the perfumes cf thousands uf flowers
and aromatic plants.
~ lat does thls mean said Natson
Is several urErre> turned in from he road
and approached the house bearing in
their arms .ln.p and motionics, Ii-urc
"Oh. John. it il 4 dead man" CN-
claimed little Mrs Ma'aon
The planter ran down to meet the men.
They were all his iiclt hands, and he
knew every black face in the group
"lIrlin. sam. what is the matter, What
j. NJ. be asked the Leader
To tell dc troof. mar~c boss" reulied
Sam. ucrvou>ly scratching his head. Use
So plum done put ont bout dis ting dat
dunno muffin Dis yer white man rurl--
be s.cacrGcad. dunno which. We foam
him down hy lie Iamdlu'. and we lest
brUr- him erlnu-"
rs he deal CaSncl Mrs Na.-on
No. Int he i unconscious said hcr
husband. who had been examining the
Stranger. We must take care of him. If
CtuT-" hate to 20 oil to town now. but
l ca'.t help 1t. III wait an half hoar or
so aul sec what Iurns mp"
tn" ul2n was carried to "A large and
comfortable room and carefully pat to
bel ~ sam and another negro Then
Mr.. Mat>uu felt his pulse and tupk good
look at hlm
The stran-r looking. sallow face. lean
10 the point ~ crlar.atiou. with the
tangled black hair around it. had a weird
Look With lis background If white r'I /
lows \ small dose ~ brandy WAS forced /
through T." tightly closed mouth. aud the |
man suddenly opened his eyes. They |
were such Shining black urbs that sam |
fell hack. murtering:
20. dc i-GWd"'
Hail an hour later Matson went 10 his
wife md said:
We'll. must 90. Aunt I.ucy is look |
iGc after our patient, and you Will do !
wagi yuI can. The case does not require |
doctor. Some beef tea to-day and some
thing solid tomorrow VIII bring the fel- |
low mp lie j, nearly dead Of exposure |
and starvation.
"OA. yos.' answered Natson. won
want Ia kTCw who he is. where he is !
from. and why he i in this fix 1t is no |
rimc "a question him now He looks like |
= foreigner. n Cuban or perhars q gypsy.
He speaks Il little English. and that j., all .
I know. Nnu need not be afraid OF him.
lie is rs feeble as an infant. and is q little
withcred Old chap with the uuccycst little
head in the world Ii is lon; and narrow,
and looks more like Il snaAc's head than
anything else
oh. John. you frichtcn me-
''Bu. 1t docs" remarked Joln. laugh
ing, ard now | think Of his >Ilaky eyes
AMI his suUpuS motion. il strikes me that
snahy i the best description that could he
gwen of h.m. Ugh, il makes III, flesh
crawl L. look az lrn. But that is neither
here nor there. Wien / get back Ill at
tend To- l.m.'
And giving his wife Il kiss. NatsCn ran
down t"tGe nucGy, jumped il, and dashed
of on h!~ way to Pyramid.
Left alOU" 80 far as the white faces were
concerned, with mysterious stranger IN
the house. Mrs. Natson felt peculiar
ncry DU>ncss which she could not shake
of For while she busted herself super
household affairs. but finally
she could not resist the temptation 10
pass the door Of the sick mans room and
lock in.
There lie was, swarthy and wrinkled.
And il, king more like Il snake than ever
The s,rprntiEe head raised itself with an
nrcliu- motion. and the little black eyes
sparkled ike beads as poor Mrs Maisun
glanced into the room. As Tor Aunt
Lucy, she followed her mistress into the
hall.
DE IawL hab mrSSy." she said. but
Mar>e IoLI outer stay u LoIHe stiGaer
trapcs.u' uI ter town. Dat man in dar
skerr me to def"
The lady Of the house said something
anI went into the par!0r. where
She yailIy tried 10 arIuse herself in vari-
Gus ways.
GLOW time draCs." she exclaimed, as
she went II y ju,,ow and looked ont in
the direction q. the river.
Did she see Il snake hasking in the sun
SHINE directly under the window? She
looked inIently for Eoment. 1t was
thick. ugly looking mocCasin, fully five
feet lcnE. While he was gazing the
vicious intruder raisyi its head and re-
turned her stare with look Of intelli-
gcIye.
1t was moccasin in locality, and Mrs
NGtSon did not care a snap of her finger
Tor ffw snakes around her front door.
She wa, accustomed TO find them in her
flower beds. and sometimes they made
heir WY into the house, but on this paI-
,iCular morning she was not herself She
turned her head and saw another snake.
With an uncomfortable shuddcr the
nervous little l&iy walked across the hall
njp another room and looked out toward
The garden. What was that dark thing
just inside the fence There could be no
doubt about it. l. was another snake.
b. Tins time Mrs. MatSOn's blood was
lP. Calling Sally. one Of the servants,
She scut her uuc IL the kitchen Ia order
he cooks boy Joe to make Il circuit Of the
loUse and XII every snake al sight.
''.Ioa done gone ter dc iirl'.'' She said,
'au' cook already killed. Two liz suakrl
n de Kitchen. an done Shet de 90. see
i've of 'um in de yard All! one under 10
steps"
The situation BEGAN 10 assume a serious
aspect. Mrs. Mar,on at once had ali The
doors clo5c3. and proceeded 10 inspect the
n n